This invention relates generally to the field of exercise devices which involve weights, and more particularly to such devices which are used to strengthen the hands, wrist and forearms. Such devices may be used to increase muscle mass or for rehabilitation and therapeutic purposes. In particular, the invention involves an exercise device having weights supported on a vertically oriented, rotatable sleeve member where the user raises and lowers the weights by rotating the sleeve member.
Exercise equipment has evolved from basic barbells and dumbbells, where weight disks are mounted on each end of a rod, to devices specifically designed to work certain muscles or muscle groups. Some devices still utilize interchangeable free weights incorporated with gears, cams, pulleys, etc., while others make use of tension members such as springs, elastic bands or the like. The invention concerns strengthening the hands, wrists and forearms. Examples of prior art devices which address this object include U.S. Pat. No. 3,184,234 to Struble, which discloses a hand-held device comprising a pair of cylindrical grips mounted coaxially with a friction member inserted therebetween, the grips being rotatable in opposing directions. End members may be tightened in the axial direction to increase or decrease the resistance. Another such device is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 3,396,967 to Brown, the device comprising a pair of cylindrical grips which are joined by a helical spring, where twisting the grips in opposing directions tightens or loosens the biasing force induced by the spring. More recently issued patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,643,417 to Nieman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,049 to Ciemiega, U.S. Pat. No. 4,838,542 Wilkinson and U.S. Pat. No. 5,690,598 to Liang show improvements in the Struble device. These devices all lack the ability to significantly vary the weight or resistance of the device, and being hand-held devices are subject to unintentionally working other muscle groups which can reduce the effectiveness of the exercise or possibly cause injury.
It is an object of this invention to provide an exercise device directed at strengthening the hand, wrist and forearm muscles and muscle groups, where the device utilizes free weights so that the amount of weight, and thus the amount of resistance, can be adjusted as desired. It is a further object to provide such a device which is supported by a base such that the device remains in a fixed location during the exercise. These and other objects not expressly stated will become apparent from the disclosure below.